photo: capitolhoops.com
At the Boost Mobile Elite 24, B-More’s 6′1″ Josh Selby took his already skyrocketing name, and game, up another notch. His flush, after faking the behind-the-back, then tapping UNC Tar Heels committ Kendall Marshall on the forehead, put the game on pause for a second as the collective roar of “Ohhhh!” shook the walls at the venerable Gauchos Gym. His numerous aviation attacks on the rim had my man Bobbito and EJ Da Mayor calling him “The Highlight.”
A top ranked prospect for years, Josh re-opened his college recruitment after initially committing to the Tennessee Volunteers. The dynamic, tough combo guard with a propensity for tossing in difficult running one handers with ease, possesses an arsenal of shots in the lane that are perplexing dilemmas to even the most adept defenders. He has the ability to take over any stagnant, half-court offensive possession and proceed to make some delicious, thirst quenching lemonade out of lemons.
And despite his scorers mentality, his on-ball defense is highly underrated, as well as his ability to create opportunities for his teammates. With his recruitment wide open, Kansas, Louisville, UCONN, Kentucky and all the other heavy hitters are jumping for joy while plotting for his signature on an official Letter of Intent.
With one of the top high school coaches, teachers of the game, mentors and role models in the country (my man, former Syracuse Orangeman, overseas pro and USA Basketball Men’s Development coach Herman “Tree” Harried at Baltimore’s Lake Clifton High School) in his corner, Josh is in the most competent of hands while navigating the days ahead.
photo of lake clifton high school coach herman harried: suhoops.com
In addition to wowing the travel circuit and New York crowd this summer, Josh has also been grinding at one of the top playground league’s in the country, Washington D.C.’s Goodman. You can peep his recent stylistics at the Barry Farms Coliseum right ‘chere –
So for those that aren’t really up on the the young fellas incubating, who’ll soon become household names under the NCAA and NBA bright lights down the road, here’s a feather from B-more, aka Hoops City, to place in your cap.
This year, I’ll be sharing more of my grassroots observations of what’s really good in the land of The Wire here on bouncemag.com
August 27th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Casey Lee says:
No disrespect to the other Elite 24 players but I told people that he was the kid to watch!
Real talk: The Future came to the Elite 24 game b/c he heard that Selby was that dude!
August 27th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
ali says:
there was some phenomenal talent out there this year casey. and selby is special. can you imagine how that lake clifton team, with his teammate and elite 24 player will barton, would have caught wreck last year if selby had transferred in time for the full season? goodness gracious!
the other guards were fantastic too. i’m very high on the kid from memphis, joe jackson, as well. and mitchell projects and st. patricks pg kyrie irving is a stud as well. the college game is getting ready to be infused with some young FIRE as these young boys seem to collectively get better and better.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Blk Caesar says:
St. Pat’s!!!! Ali, nice to see you give love to the only player from my old high school on the elite 24 this year. (although I think Michael Gilcrest should have been on that roster also.) Selby is bananas… B’more keeps bringing up some serious heat! Speaking of the Goodman league… Has there been any Agent Zero sightings? I was wondering how he has been looking as of late… inquring minds want to know.
August 27th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
ali says:
yo cease!,
gil came out there two weeks ago and dropped 35. i heard he’s made some appearances at the attack athletics facility in chicago, working out with mike’s old trainer tim grover.
gil pulled up into the pj’s in his ferrari and showed some bounce, according to my man wendell stephens from dc metrosports who doesn’t miss a game out there. i heard gil was not playing from the perimeter, but attacking the rim. heard he showed some explosion and threw down a few ill dunks too.
August 27th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
ali says:
oh, and cease, i heard that mike gilchrist is the relevant, real deal holyfield!
August 27th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
c-viz says:
i like this kid, he has all the tools (pause, lol) and he always looks like he really wants to play unlike a lot of the other top tier talent
August 27th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Blk Caesar says:
Wow… Gil is attacking the rim!!!! That is phenomenal news.. If he is back to full health and everybody stays healthy that Wiz team could be a problem come playoff time.. Looks like I may make an appearance at the phone booth this year… Oh and yes my friend… Gilchrist is serious(not crazy flashy but really talented).. If he keeps playing and progressing at this pace he will be the #1 player in his class.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
ali says:
cease,
some dude told me that not only is gilchrist #1 in his class, he’s #1 in high school period. and w/ gil back at full strength, the wizards “pity the fool!”
August 27th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Blk Caesar says:
Ali,
Alot of people and publications have been saying that.. He definitely has the skills to be #1.. He’s a junior this year and has been playing extremely well in the summer circuit.. Mike and Kyrie should shine even more this year since Dexter is at UNC now. I pity the fool too b/c you know Gil has something to prove.. He plays better with a chip on his shoulder anyway.. Speaking of UNC, I have that Kentucky vs.UNC game circled on the calendar for next season..
August 27th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
ali says:
man-o-manischewitz, that unc/kentucky joint’s gonna be crazy. the kid ed davis for the tar heels, ooohweee! love his game.dexter strickland and john wall goin’ at it. man, i more hyped than dick vitale RIGHT NOW and it’s august. my wife gettin’ ready to hate me all over again.
and from what i hear, gil is in that “oh, so ya’ll wanna sleep on me!” mode that drove him at arizona and w/ the warriors and wizards b4 he got hurt. you know he’s ready to get his spot back, alongside bronnie, melo, wade and bosh.
August 27th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Blk Caesar says:
Yes sirrrrr… I already told the wife “pretend I don’t exist for two or three hours that day”… oh boy that means Gil is bringing heat!!! I’ll definitely be in your neck of the woods this season for a game… You know I was just thinking about the past few drafts and I don’t think many people talk about it but quite a few of the lottery studs have come from the B’More/DC area and the other thing I wondered is how did they slip out of Georgetown’s hands??
August 28th, 2009 at 9:34 am
ali says:
no doubt black caeser,
if you look at the whole baltimore/dc corridor, i don’t know of any area that can compete with what they’ve recently sent to the league in melo, rudy gay, durant, beasely, delonte west, jarrett jack, ty lawson, jeff green, sam young, hibbert, etc.
and college rosters are stuffed with kids from the mid-atlantic. yo, the high school and aau ball down here is crazy. and there’s a young boy out in pg county named jordan goodman who’s 6′9″, 16 years old who’s got some serious wingspan. his pops dion is from brooklyn. they’re talking about jordan as the next durant/beasely-type.
georgetown has been getting their fair share. freeman and chris wright are from that dc area and dejuan summers and henry sims are from b-more. and they’re hot after ernie graham’s kid, jonathan, who’s nice.
the real question should be why is gary williams and maryland not getting these kids. sean mosley was the first high post b-more kid to go there in a minute.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Ronald M. says:
COME ON HERMAN, SEND HIM TO THE CUSE. WE NEED HIM
August 28th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
ali says:
my people tell me that ‘cuse is in the mix, ronald m.